


An Offer He Can't Refuse

by 27dragons



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, alternate universe - office/corporate, business negotiation, hostile takeover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28455093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/27dragons/pseuds/27dragons
Summary: Stark Enterprises had acquired Hydra Technologies almost two months ago in an exceptionally hostile takeover, and while most of the senior leadership had been dumped immediately -- and good riddance -- the main working force had been kept on for the time being to be “evaluated”, whatever that meant.But apparently that time had run out. Stark himself was onsite today for some kind of corporate meeting, and everyone seemed certain that while he was here, he’d be announcing a whole stack of layoffs.Bucky expected he’d be among them.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark
Comments: 50
Kudos: 320
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020





	An Offer He Can't Refuse

**Author's Note:**

> This fic fills my Bucky Barnes Bingo square B1 - AU: Office/Corporate. Full header below - and this marks a blackout card, squeaking in JUST under the wire!

Today was the day, or so rumor said. Stark Enterprises had acquired Hydra Technologies almost two months ago in an exceptionally hostile takeover, and while most of the senior leadership had been dumped immediately -- and good riddance -- the main working force had been kept on for the time being to be “evaluated”, whatever that meant.

But apparently that time had run out. Stark himself was onsite today for some kind of corporate meeting, and everyone seemed certain that while he was here, he’d be announcing a whole stack of layoffs.

Bucky expected he’d be among them. He was honestly a bit surprised he hadn’t been let go in the first wave, because Pierce had been personally grooming Bucky for an upper management position. But now that Stark’s people had been combing through Hydra’s records for a month, Bucky was definitely on the chopping block.

But, despicable as Pierce had been, he’d still managed to teach Bucky a few tricks. Bucky used all of them now to smile and charm and twist his way through the formidable layers of executive staff. He bulled his way past the final receptionist and burst into Stark’s office. “You don’t want to fire me,” he announced.

Stark, standing at the floor-to-ceiling window and looking out on the city, touched his headset. “I’m going to have to call you back,” he said calmly. He pulled the headset off and tossed it carelessly onto the broad desk.

Bucky took a breath to continue, but Stark beat him to it. “James Buchanan Barnes,” Stark said thoughtfully, and Bucky was startled enough to lose track of what he’d been planning to say. He wasn’t sure even Pierce had known his middle name.

Stark leaned against the front of the desk, not using it to keep Bucky at bay. “Your record is impressive,” Stark continued. “You’re very efficient. Ruthless when you have to be, but not cruel. Excellent at directing your teams but not afraid to get your own hands dirty. It’s rare to find someone who’s good at both business _and_ the technical end of things. The only mark against you is that you were working for Hydra in the first place.” He raised his eyebrow, challenging.

Bucky took a breath. “I started out at Shield Consulting,” he said. “Strategic Science division. I’d been there about a year and a half when the team I was on took over the Zola project. It was a disaster, running itself into the ground. We managed to turn it around, but it was... a struggle. Someone had to take a fall.” It had to be him or Steve, and while Bucky would always regret losing that job with Shield, he could never regret saving Steve’s career. Steve was still with Shield, and doing fantastically. “Hydra picked me up in the aftermath. I didn’t have a lot of choice; they were pretty much the only place that would touch me.”

Stark’s other eyebrow had gone up. “We do a fair amount of contract work with Shield,” he said. “If I go ask for their records on you, will they back up that story?”

“Probably not,” Bucky admitted. “You know how spin is, I’m sure.” Stark tipped his head a little, acknowledging the point. “But if you want to go over to their HQ and ask to talk to Steve Rogers, he’ll tell you the same story.”

Stark smiled thinly. “As it happens, Rogers and I are acquainted.” He crossed his arms over his chest, studying Bucky thoughtfully. “You’re right. I don’t want to fire you.”

Bucky blinked. “Oh.”

“But I do want to offer you another position.”

“You... you do?”

Stark hummed. “I was going to bring you up here for lunch to talk about it, but since you’re here now... This isn’t public knowledge yet, but my PA is leaving Stark Enterprises. We’re spinning off a subsidiary, Stark Reliant, and she’s going to head it up.”

“You want me to help stand up a new subsidiary?”

“No.” Stark walked around his desk and opened a drawer, took out a thick folder. “I want you to be my new PA.” He slid the folder across the desk toward Bucky. “Look it over, think about it. If you’d rather help stand up Reliant, we can probably make that happen. But I’d rather have you as my right hand man. I think your talents are too valuable to waste on one company when you could be benefiting the entire corporation.”

Carefully, as if it might bite, Bucky opened the folder. The top page was an offer letter, and the offered salary was enough to make Bucky have to swallow. Twice. “This is very generous, Mr. Stark. How... when do you need an answer?” Under the offer letter was a benefits handbook. Behind that was a moderately-thick stack of paperwork to sign. And under that was a much thicker stack that appeared to be Stark’s schedule and task list for the next month. Clipped to the very back of the folder was a corporate credit card.

“You’re going to earn every penny,” Stark promised. “I’d like to say you can have as long as you need, but we’re going to announce Ms. Potts’ new position tomorrow. You can take the rest of today, if you like. Go home and do your research, work up the numbers, and let me know in the morning. Or...” His gaze turned sharp and measuring. “You can stay and help us finalize the packages for the other Hydra people.”

Bucky rested his fingertips gently on the folder to keep them from shaking. “Packages?”

“Mm. Some of them will be severance packages, as you’ve already guessed. I won’t apologize for that. Some of the people working here are... not up to our standards, either technically or ethically.”

Bucky thought of Rumlow and Rollins, half a dozen others, and couldn’t argue. “And the rest?”

“Employment packages. The people we’d like to retain will all receive raises and a benefits package that I believe far outstrips Hydra’s. Some of them will receive promotions, as well.” Stark gestured at the folder under Bucky’s hand. “Like you.”

“What do you need me for, then?” Bucky wondered. “Sounds like you’ve got everything settled.”

“But you actually know the people,” Stark pointed out. “You can tell me if my team and I have made any mistakes, because we’ve had to work mostly from employment records. Which, as I’m sure you know, only tell a small part of the tale.”

Bucky looked down at the letter, then looked back up. “When do we start, Mr. Stark?”

Stark grinned. “I’m meeting HR in the executive conference room in ten minutes; you can join me there. Bring your signed offer letter and the biggest coffee you can persuade the shop downstairs to give you, with a minimum of three shots of espresso. And whatever you need to get through a meeting that will take at least two hours. Welcome aboard. And Mr. Barnes?”

Bucky paused as he was putting the corporate credit card into his wallet. “Sir?”

“Call me Tony.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title: An Offer He Can't Refuse  
> Square: B1 - AU: Office/Corporate  
> Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28455093  
> Rating: G  
> Warnings: None  
> Ship: Gen  
> Wordcount: 1179  
> Summary: Stark Enterprises had acquired Hydra Technologies almost two months ago in an exceptionally hostile takeover, and while most of the senior leadership had been dumped immediately -- and good riddance -- the main working force had been kept on for the time being to be “evaluated”, whatever that meant.  
> But apparently that time had run out. Stark himself was onsite today for some kind of corporate meeting, and everyone seemed certain that while he was here, he’d be announcing a whole stack of layoffs.  
> Bucky expected he’d be among them.


End file.
